


repeat after me

by Rinniebee



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Superheroes, F/F, F/M, Gen, HEAVILY inspired by Batman, I haven’t decided on all ships yet but... probably Cloti and Aerti vibes tbh, No editing we die like mne, practically everyone has an alter ego
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:42:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24193774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinniebee/pseuds/Rinniebee
Summary: Tifa didn’t know why she waited. Perhaps it was to get a glimpse of a shadow of her past, but there was no promise that the shadow would come. Sometimes he didn’t. It was stupid but Tifa waited every time, regardless.Vulture never liked when she did it but what Vulture didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Hopefully, he would be too busy to check the tracker in her suit. She didn’t need any real problems tonight. Criminals and sleazebags she was trained to deal with but no one had given her lessons on how to deal with Vulture’s mood swings. His son had been good practice but even that was rather short lived.—Superhero AU heavily inspired by Batman where Tifa works for Vincent Valentine and has been inducted into his family better known as the Flock.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife (past), Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart, Lucrecia Crescent/Vincent Valentine (past), Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	1. The rook & the coyote

**Author's Note:**

> HOO BOI. I am rusty as hell when it comes to writing. I’m doing this for fun in hopes that it’ll inspire me to write more and more until my muse comes back 😭Pls be gentle I haven’t written in months!

Patrol in the slums had been boring tonight.

Tifa supposed that should have been a given considering it was Wednesday and even the people of the slums had to work tomorrow, but whenever Vulture assigned her to patrol down here, the sheer amount of violence usually shocked her every time. Tonight though, there was practically nothing. 

In the past six hours, Tifa had only stopped four robberies, intervened when a couples alleyway make out devolved into screaming and crying, and busted a drug deal to a child who was meant to be in  _ bed _ somewhere warm and safe. Tifa had broken those guys' noses with a little bit of extra strength before calling the police for that. Dealing to kids? What kind of sick bastards did shit like that, anyway? The kid hadn’t looked too happy for her help but Tifa didn’t care. No kid was getting access to illegal substances while she was on patrol. The sickos always seemed to come out at night.

Vulture hated when she said that, though. Their job was to make sure the sickos didn’t come out at night. Fear was supposedly their first method of communication. After that, they switched over to pain.  _ Listen to the Vulture and his Flock or die,  _ is what the people on the upper plate said but they were easy to scare into submission versus the wild and reckless people of slums with little to lose. What did it matter if a man in a crimson red cape came crashing down, ready to beat you into submission? Everyone knew the Vulture didn’t kill. He came close but he always ensured your survival in the end. Tifa thought that was his downfall, but who was she to comment? She could never kill anyone and she’d only been at this for a year and a half. Still, it seemed like the people of the slums seemed to be on the same page as her.

_ You want to kill us? Go ahead. Twenty more of us will just pop up in one place. Don’t you know that already, birdman?  _

Those words came hard and fast during Tifa’s first night on patrol and they’d pissed Vulture off enough that he was driven to drink hours later. And according to Wolf, Vulture  _ never _ drank. A whole year later and the slums had become Rook and Eagle’s sole territory. Vulture hardly came down here anymore, not unless she or Eagle needed backup. And even then, Vulture preferred only to be called if it was a matter of life or death.

Thankfully, patrol was almost over, the sun was coming up—not that she could see it from down here, but the sun lamps were starting to tinge yellow a little bit. It was subtle, but it was there. Even if Tifa thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, the tech built into her cowl let her know that the power had been switched on. She couldn’t wait to get back home, take off the kevlar and spirit gum, and hop into the shower. Sleep would be more than welcome at this hour, but she would wait here, in this little nook, just a little while before heading back.

Tifa didn’t know why she waited. Perhaps it was to get a glimpse of a shadow of her past, but there was no promise that the shadow would come. Sometimes he didn’t. It was stupid but Tifa waited every time, regardless.

Vulture never liked when she did it but what Vulture didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Hopefully, he would be too busy to check the tracker in her suit. She didn’t need any real problems tonight. Criminals and sleazebags she was trained to deal with but no one had given her lessons on how to deal with Vulture’s mood swings. His son had been good practice but even that was rather short lived.

Tifa chewed her bottom lip, checking the time on her phone. 5:12AM. Vulture would definitely check in soon. And still, she didn’t move. Instead, she looked up to the plates, leaned back against the wall of this little tucked away corner by the item shop, and listened to the sounds of the night. Everything seemed to have finally calmed down for now. No one needed her, at least not here.

There was a subtle click then soft static in her ear before Vulture’s gravely voice came over the comm. “Rook.”

Tifa hummed. “Hey, V. What’s up?”

“Status report.”

“Oh, not much,” Tifa said easily, waving her hand like it was no big deal. “A drug bust. A domestic violence incident. Some robberies. Pretty tame all things considered.”

“Injuries?”

“Nothing to write home about. Maybe some bruises. Nothing major.”

What would her father say if he could hear her talking like this, she wondered. Brian Lockhart’s little princess not batting an eye at violence? Brian Lockhart’s little girl donning kevlar and wielding weapons to take down criminals in the middle of the night? Absurd.

Vulture grunted in her ear. “Make your way home, little bird. Patrol is over.”

“Yes, boss,” Tifa said carefully, making sure there was no sarcasm in her voice. “I’m headed to my bike now.”

“You say that but you aren’t moving.”

She chewed her lip again, trying to choose her words carefully. “You’re at home?”

“Arm guard.”

Damn. She forgot about the new holographic computer fit into his guard. Stupid Valentine R&D department. He hadn’t fit  _ her _ with that tech yet. Selfish.

“If you see him, be smart,” Vulture said, keeping his voice low as if he was scared someone would overhear him. Who was he patrolling with tonight? Eagle? Or Wolf? For some reason she couldn’t remember. “Keep your distance. He’s dangerous.”

“Right.” She knew that.

“I mean it, Rook.”

Tifa nodded, although he couldn’t see her. “I know. I heard you loud and clear, V. I promise.”

Vulture didn’t even say goodbye before her comm clicked and the line went dead.

“You know,” Tifa said out loud, after a minute or so; she didn’t know if he was around but if he was, he would hear her. “I’m pretty beat. I could use a shower and some sleep. Can’t stand around all night.”

There were no words to greet hers. No sounds. Nothing but the idle quiet of sector 7 in its lull before morning. Tifa sighed, pushing herself up from the graffiti covered wall.

“Okay then,” she muttered, feeling foolish. There was no guarantee that he was even there to hear her. “See ya.”

She was halfway to the train station and the little hidden area she always stored her bike before a long shadow cast itself in front of her. Tifa didn’t flinch when he made his way out of his hiding place. His hair, eyes and nose were successfully covered by his own black cowl but unlike the smooth surface of hers, his had wolf ears fixed to the top. The sight always made her smile but she suppressed it.

“Thought you were a no show.”

“Heard you talking to V. Wasn’t sure if it was a setup.”

Tifa sighed, placing a hand on her hip. “You really think I’d do that to you, Cloud?”

He tsked his disapproval, loud and clear in the quiet night. “Field names only.”

“Yep,” Tifa drawled. “You’re your father's son alright.”

He tensed, just for a moment. “He’s not my father.”

“Right and I’m not a college student at Midgar U.”

The glowing blue lenses fixed to his cowl stopped her from seeing his eyes, but Tifa knew Cloud was rolling them under his mask.

“So, when are you coming home? We miss you. Don’t you think you’ve punished V enough?”

“This isn’t about him.”

“That’s what you all say,” Tifa muttered. “Okay, fine. Don’t you think you’ve punished  _ me _ enough? I miss having a partner, you know. Eagle is great but he’s so loud and don’t get me started on Wolf.”

Cloud crossed his arms over his chest. His cowl didn’t hide his signature pout. “You seem to be thriving solo.”

Tifa cocked her head, taking a couple steps closer. “Were you watching me? Most girls would find that disturbing, you know.”

“You’ve never been most girls,” Cloud deadpanned. “You practically begged to join a family of stalkers.”

“You never know. I just might think you’re one big creep.” Tifa smiled, just a tad before pushing herself back from his vicinity and over to her bike. “Look, I gotta go. Don’t keep me waiting so long next time, okay? It was good to see you, Clo—I mean,  _ Coyote _ . Sorry. Still getting used to the name change.”

He followed her to her bike but kept his distance. “I have a favour to ask you.”

“Yeah?” Tifa swung her leg over her bike, planting herself down on her seat but keeping the kickstand in place.

“There’s this case I’m working on. Could use your help.”

Tifa hummed. “Why not ask Wolf?”

“He’s got a big mouth.”

“And Bloom?”

“Even bigger mouth.”

Tifa almost scoffed. Aerith most certainly wasn’t a big mouth, she just liked to tease Cloud. Sometimes she went a bit too far but it was never  _ malicious _ . Cloud was could be so sensitive at times. 

“If you say so. Swing by the house on Friday if you can. It’s my only day off.”

“I’m not going back the—”

“ _ My _ house, silly,” cutting him off with a look he couldn’t see. She was sure her frown got the point across. “Not yours.”

Why was he so hellbent on believing she would set up an ambush? If he really didn’t want to see his father that badly, that was his business.

Cloud nodded, just the once. It was jerky and awkward. “That makes sense. Brian won’t be there?”

“He should be at work if you come by during the day.”

“And Marle?”

Tifa let herself laugh, just a little. Why were boys so afraid of little old ladies? “She’ll be around. I’ll make sure she’s on her best behaviour.”

“Okay. Cool.”

“I’ll see you Friday, then?” Tifa asked, all too aware of the softness that’d crept back up into her voice. Cloud Strife-Valentine did things to her without even trying sometimes.

“Friday.”

Tifa gave him a smile, a real one—teeth and all—before flicking her kickstand up with her foot and taking off into the night, leaving Cloud behind.


	2. Chapter 2

Vincent’s knee bounced without his permission. He did his best to ignore it, focusing his attention on the photos of twelve corpses spread out on the table, each victim photographed with a slice across the neck. They didn’t all match, though. The oldest victims, dating back six months or so, had thin, clean cuts to the throat whereas the most recent had brutal, ragged slashes. It reeked of a poor copycat or perhaps a greater descent into madness. Either way, Midgar’s most recent serial killer was ruthless and calculated. Worst of all, they were also disturbingly elusive.

While the Midgar City Police had never been _good_ at their jobs, they didn’t seem to have any clues Vincent could extort for his own detective work. In the past, he didn’t mind working on a case from scratch, but the last decade had spoiled him and he didn’t have the patience to craft a puzzle together without it having already been started. 

“Hey, you wanted to see us, boss man?”

Vincent looked up to see Zack and Tifa, both dressed and ready for Thursday night patrol. All they were missing were their cowls.

“I have an assignment for you both.”

“Lay it on us,” Zack said with an easy grin.

Tifa looked apprehensive, as always. There was an eagerness there, however. Tifa had an anxious heart, but it never stopped her from being a team player.

“I’m sure you’ve heard about the latest serial killer in Midgar.”

Zack rocked on his heels. “Midgar Slasher, yeah.”

“That’s not his name,” Tifa said, shaking her head. “They’re calling him Hades, like the deity summoned by the ancients. Dr. Gast went on a whole rant about it, remember?”

“Yeah, that’s why Midgar Slasher is better,” Zack argued. “Put the whole appropriation bit in the garbage.”

“It’s still a bad name…”

Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. “Nevertheless, Midgar Slasher or Hades… I need you two to work with Barret, find out what you can about this killer and put it together in a file for me. Said mission starts tonight. Don’t be reckless and don’t garner any unwanted attention. You don’t need to become his next target.”

“Who said they’re a he, anyway?” Zack asked. “It could be a woman.” When Tifa rolled her eyes, Zack grinned and said, “What? Women can be bad people too. It’s equality.”

“Zack, shut up.”

“You know, now that we’re official partners I think it’s time you start being a little nicer to me, Lockhart.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” Vincent said, levelling Tifa with a serious look. There was bad blood between the two of them and he wasn’t stupid enough to believe that it had been cleansed. “You’ll be working closely. Try to be civil.”

Zack looked like a puppy with a bone but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

“Right. Sorry.” Tifa glanced at Zack quickly but immediately focused back on Vincent. 

“Zack, leave us for a moment. Tifa will rejoin you in a minute.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

When he was gone, Vincent gestured for Tifa to have a seat across from him at the table. “Sit. I’d like to speak about last night.”

Tifa did as she was told, no questions asked. “Is this about Cloud?”

“Of course.”

“We didn’t talk long,” Tifa said in quick defense. “Barely five minutes, even.”

“I know. I kept an eye on your tracker,” Vincent confessed. “I was worried for you.”

Tifa’s brows fought to meet in the middle. “You keep saying he’s dangerous but it’s not like Cloud would ever hurt me.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. He’s angry and when Cloud is angry… Bad things happen. Don’t misunderstand me, Tifa. It’s good that he has you. He respects you, maybe even loves you, but that doesn’t mean he’s good _for_ you.”

“I don’t understand.”

Vincent grunted. “No. I suppose you wouldn’t.”

“What do you want me to do? He’s my friend. I can’t just cut him off.”

Vincent leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs at the ankles. “I know. I’m just asking you to be careful.”

Tifa peered at him, curious as always. She nodded, finally. “I always am.”

* * *

Cloud left the Flock six months ago.

Zack always said it was an honour to be a bird; it was a _gift_ to join the Flock but Cloud wasn’t sure he’d ever really deserved that so-called gift. For all intents and purposes, Vincent Valentine was a benevolent rich man if such a thing actually existed. He’d taken Cloud in, made him his son, and even gave him a cape despite some people making their disapproval _very_ clear. 

Cloud was quickly labelled the _chosen_ _son_ , so he’d never been stupid enough to bite the hand that fed him. But that didn’t mean he belonged. 

Getting adopted at the fragile age of twelve had resulted in Cloud looking up as his one and only father figure with wide, innocent eyes and an overwhelming amount of admiration. But the innocence faded and Vincent Valentine had long fallen off the pedestal of _Best_ _Dad Ever_ to _Most Fucked Up Man Alive_ in Cloud’s eyes.

Aerith said he was too harsh but Aerith was an enabler, just like the rest of the Flock. She was more a bird than Cloud would ever be. Her presence in the family made sense. She’d fit right in despite her sunny disposition. She’d never leave the Flock, not for him and not for herself either.

But Cloud wasn’t the type to stick around just because Vincent was sad. Vincent Valentine was a grown ass man. If he needed help, he had more than enough money to afford it. Cloud didn’t need to hang around a manipulative liar with a deeply rooted hero complex and an unhealthy addiction to violence.

And he certainly didn’t need to hang around the brainwashed members, either.

“So, then, why come to me for help?” Tifa asked after Cloud finished his rant, tucking one of her bare legs between herself and her purple bed while the other hung off the edge. He was doing his best not to stare. “Seems like you’d want to avoid all things Flock-related. As much as I appreciate not being lumped in with the so-called crazies, I’m not so sure I deserve it…”

Cloud hadn’t moved too far from Tifa’s bedroom door, even though she had gestured for him to sit in the chair by her desk more than once. He liked being close to exits, just in case he needed to flee. “You weren’t raised by Vincent or within his vincity, so you’re different to the rest of us. You don’t have the bias that Zack and Aerith do and you’re not his best friend like Barret nor do you work for him like Elmyra or Ifalna.”

Tifa hummed, too non-committal for Cloud's tastes. “True, but he’s still my boss.”

“My point is that you have the least to lose. Besides, you defy him almost every night to come see me in sector 7, anyway.”

Tifa’s lips twitched at the corners but she didn’t give him a smile. “And yet you always think it’s a setup…” 

She sounded tired of him already and they had barely been talking privately for fifteen minutes. How was it that he was able to exhaust her so quickly? Was he really that insufferable?

“I was on edge,” he said, careful not to sound whiny. “Don’t take it so personally.”

“If you say so,” Tifa said with an easy shrug. Cloud could tell she didn’t believe him but it was clear the issue had been dropped. “So, what’s this case you need help with, anyway?”

“You gonna help me?” He moved closer into the room, slowly gravitating toward the comfortable looking chair by her desk. Tifa was a neat person, there wasn’t a single thing in her room that seemed out of place. A stark contrast to Aerith’s usually messy room.

Tifa shifted, stretching out her leg and flexing her ankle. “I need the details first and then I’ll think about it.”

“Fair enough.” Cloud shrugged his backpack off his shoulder, letting it hang off his arm as he rummaged through it for the thick folder filled with information. “Here.” He gently tossed it onto her bed before finally plopping himself down in her chair.

“Wow,” Tifa breathed out in awe, admiring its girth. “You’ve been working on this a while I take it?”

Cloud drummed his fingers against his thigh. “I didn’t collect all of it. Most of it was given to me.”

Tifa peeked over the top of the folder with her big, wine-red eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. “Given to you by who?”

That was a question he was hoping to avoid answering for a while yet. “An ally.” Wrong word but Tifa didn’t need to know that. “Just look at the contents and make your decision.”

“I don’t know, Cloud,” Tifa said with a sigh, moving the elastic band that held the folder together. He was nervous to share this, especially with someone from the Flock but he trusted Tifa. “This seems serious and I’m hardly qualified in comparison to…” She trailed off, her eyes practically burning holes into the first document. “Oh, _Cloud_.”

Silence was the only response to her sympathy Cloud could think of. Tifa glanced at him, licked her lips, and went back to sorting through the files in silence. She wasn’t even half way through before she closed it, secured it with the elastic and handed it back to him with the firm shake of her head.

“I can’t help you with this, Cloud. You know I can’t.”

His fingers felt numb when he took the file back. He’d barely felt himself move at all. “No, I don’t. Why can’t you help?” He hadn’t expected her to shoot him down so quickly.

Tifa was giving him a full frown—lips pursed, eyebrows pinched. “Because, I’m not…” She stopped, chewed on her lip the way she always did when she was anxious. “You really should ask Zack. Or Vincent. Or Barret. Anyone but me, really. I haven’t been in the game long enough…”

“If it were up to Vincent I wouldn’t even know that my mother’s death wasn’t an accident.” If it were up to Vincent, Cloud would live his entire life in the dark. If it were up to Vincent, Cloud would still be a part of the Flock, never questioning a single thing. “He knew. He knew from the moment he took me in and he never said a fucking word. Never did a damn thing.”

Tifa shifted again but she kept eye contact. “Cloud… where did you get those files?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does to me. And you’re asking for my help, so be honest.”

Cloud scoffed. Emotional blackmail? She really had been hanging out with the Flock too long. “You said you weren’t going to help anyway.”

“Maybe I can be convinced. As long as you’re honest with me, that is.”

He considered that for a moment, weighing the options. Truth was, Cloud wouldn’t be here if he thought he could do it alone in the first place. It’d been six months since he’d gotten ahold of this information and while strides had been made, Cloud was nowhere near close to solving the case of his mother’s murder. He needed further access to Vincent’s database and Tifa could get him that access.

“It doesn’t matter,” Cloud stated.

Tifa sighed. “That night… When you and Vincent were fighting in the Nest and you took off. Is _this_ what the fight was about?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“And that’s why you won’t go home?”

“That place was never my home, Tifa.”

Tifa shook her head. “That’s not true. If you want my help, you’re going to have to stop pretending like you’re not hurt. I can’t help if you’re living a life of denial, Cloud. You ran away because you felt betrayed, but how could you feel betrayed if Vincent meant nothing to you in the first place? How could you run away if the manor was never your home?”

Cloud leaned back in his seat and toyed with the elastic holding his mother’s file together. “We’ll get along better today if you stop trying to psychoanalyze me,” he said without any heat. All the fight had been drained out of him since fighting with Vincent six months ago.

“Sorry, but you’re talking to a psych major here,” Tifa said easily.

“Right. Forgot.” Cloud let his eyes slide shut, exhaustion from his late night patrol settling in as his early morning caffeine faded out.

He’d barely noticed the silence until Tifa broke it, “Why not just ask whoever gave you this info then? They’re the one who filled you in, so… why me? I get that we were partners. We worked really well together, I think, but…”

“Truth?” Cloud opened his eyes just a crack to look at her.

Tifa nodded, the sight of her bleary. “Truth.”

“I need access to Vincent’s database and _you_ have that access. You also won’t go running to Daddy Dearest to tattle.”

“Oh,” Tifa said simply. There was silence and then she was laughing. “That’s a horrible idea!”

“It’s not,” Cloud argued. “He won’t fire you if he finds out. Bench you? Yes. Fire? No.”

“Oh, please! Remember when he fired Yuffie? _Twice_.”

“Yuffie’s an idiot. You’re valuable to Vincent.”

Tifa hummed, clearly unconvinced. “Cloud, Vincent’s under the impression that you’re _dangerous_ . If he finds out I’m helping you with a case, I don’t think there’s going to be much room for forgiveness. But, maybe, if _you_ talk to him yourself and ask for help I don’t think he would turn you away. I understand why you don’t want to, but if he has information you need then…”

“Not interested.”

Tifa wrung her hands in her lap. “Okay.” She had so many nervous ticks. Was she always this anxious? Or did the nightlife make it worse?

“Are you in or out?”

“... I’m _processing_ , Cloud. Shit.” She shot him a little glare but it melted quickly. “If I say I’m in, what’s our first step?”

“There’s this guy. Goes by the name Tseng but I can’t find out shit about him. I’ve interrogated enough goons and yuppies over the past six months and no one’s saying shit. His name is familiar enough, I just don’t know where to look but I bet Vincent does. All I need is for you to see if Vincent’s got a file on the guy and forward it to me. I’ll take it from there.”

Tifa squinted at him. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Nothing else?”

Cloud shook his head. “Nope.”

“What are you going to do when you find this Tseng?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Tifa’s gaze was scrutinizing. Cloud wasn’t sure how she was able to see through people the way she did.

“Vincent thinks hanging out with you is bad for me,” she said, unexpectedly.

“Of course he does,” Cloud said with a snort. “You know, his life would be a lot easier if he directed his attention at the son who needs him, not me.”

“The son who needs him…? Oh, you mean Sephiroth? Vincent doesn’t talk about him much. I’ve never met him.”

Cloud crossed his arms tight over his chest. “Good. You should keep it that way. You don’t want to meet that asshole.”

Tifa nodded. “That’s what Aerith and Zack say.”

Cloud didn’t mean to stiffen up at their mention, but he felt his thighs involuntarily flex. “Yeah. Well, I’m sure they’ll keep you out of his way. They don’t want another incident. Anyway,” he stood and slipped the case file back into his bag. “I should go. Call me when you’ve got the information I need, or just meet me in Sector 7.”

“That’ll be hard. Vincent moved my route, I’m patrolling with Zack and Barret now.”

“With _Zack?”_ Cloud repeated incredulously, slinging his bag back onto his shoulder. “That’s a horrible idea. You two barely get along.”

“We’re… trying,” Tifa said, defending Vincent’s choice weakly. “Besides, we’re both professional. And it’s not like I _hate_ him or anything. He’s just… annoying and has a penchant for selfishness, that’s all.”

Cloud held his tongue. If Zack and Tifa could work out their issues without a mediator, Cloud would give them both a hundred dollars.

“Besides, if I’m having trouble with him you can help,” Tifa said as she followed him out of her room, walking him down to the front door. 

“Me? I haven’t talked to Zack in months.” He didn’t even know if they were friends anymore.

“Consider it a favour for me, then. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. Deal?”

Cloud heaved a sigh, glancing toward the living room where Marle watched them with a sharp, curious eye. He could hear the dramatic dialogue of her soap opera playing in the background.

“Sure. Whatever.”

“Great! Thanks for coming over, Cloud,” Tifa said with a shy smile. “It was nice to see you outside of work.” She reached up as if to touch his hair but she didn’t go through with it, her hand quickly fell back to her side.

Cloud cleared his throat awkwardly. “Yeah, you too.”

Despite her earlier bout of shyness, Tifa boldly stepped closer, opening her arms for a hug. Cloud froze in place as the gap between them closed, accidentally making eye contact with Marle as his arms hung limply at his sides. Across the way, Marle’s lips pinched in disapproval until the fog in Cloud’s brain cleared and he returned the hug in full.

“Be careful on the drive back now,” Marle called out to him, her voice a little too acidic for Cloud’s tastes. “I heard the roads are slippery from the rain. Would hate to hear you wound up dead in a ditch before age twenty-two.”

“Right…” That sounded more like a threat than actual worry. “Thanks.”

Tifa gave him an apologetic smile, placing her hands on his shoulders as she steered and pushed him out the front door. “I’ll do my best to get you that info. Promise.”

He glanced back at her once out on the porch, smiling just a little despite himself. “Appreciate it.”

* * *

Cloud might have been right about Tifa’s new partnership. Tonight was her first time out with her new team and Rook already had complicated feelings on the matter. On one hand, this mission was a rather nice break from the repetitive patrols in the slums but on the other hand she had to fight to keep her patience in check while Eagle and Wolf threatened to destroy her sanity.

Friday night’s mission had her staked out on a rooftop with said men and as much as Rook loved Eagle, it often felt like Vulture left her to play babysitter despite the almost fifteen year gap between them.

“See, and here’s my little angel when we took her to the zoo last week!” Eagle said, a little too loudly as he showed off an adorable photo of himself, Marlene, and Myrna at the Midgar Zoo on the outskirts of the city. Marlene seemed to be having a great time with her parents, but as cute as it was, now was _not_ the time.

“Aww, so cute,” Wolf crooned. He meant it too. As much as he annoyed her, Wolf didn’t do half-assed social interactions.

Rook sighed. “You know I love seeing these, but I really think we should focus before V kills us for botching this mission.”

They were supposed to be waiting for a man by the name Butch to come and handle a job down here. Vulture didn’t have all the details, which meant their little group needed to be extra diligent. Rook wasn’t stupid, though. Butch was either involved in drugs, weapons, or human trafficking. If tonight was an extra bad night, maybe their interrogation would lead to them busting all three, but they were really here for information about Hades. They couldn’t afford to be distracted or caught.

“Bah!” Eagle waved away Rook’s concerns like they were dust. “Nothing’s better than stories of little M, I say. Nothing!”

When Eagle got like this it was better to just tune him out rather than argue.

“Hey, I don’t mean to be a downer but it’s too quiet out here, you know?” Wolf said after some time, maybe another half hour more of waiting.

“Mm. Been at this a long time, kid, and silence at the pier in the middle of the night always spells trouble.”

“What are you two suggesting we do?” Rook asked, glancing at them from the corner of her eye. She didn’t move, careful not to leave her crafted position on the rooftops.

“Only one thing we can do—head down there and check it out,” Wolf said.

Rook sunk her teeth into her bottom lip and worried at it for a moment. “Okay… If you think that’s best. Following your lead, Eagle.”

“Damn skippy, girl.”

They split up, Eagle to the east, Rook to the west, and Wolf to the north. At the docks themselves there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary, but something told Tifa to check the alleyway that led to the main streets. What she found was a rather unsurprising tragedy. She clicked a button on the comm lodged in her ear and dialed into the private channel between her new team

“I found our guy,” Rook said, eyeing the corpses of Butch and his informant with their throats slit. “It isn’t pretty…”

Wolf answered first with, “On my way.”

“Be there in a jiffy,” Eagle said a moment later.

The boys didn’t keep Rook waiting for long, but in the time she was alone, Rook took it upon herself to take photos of the new corpses. The cuts to the neck were as messy and violent as the last couple of victims. The blade used here must have been serrated given the trauma to the body.

“Oh, gross,” Wolf said behind her, almost making Rook jump. “You phone it in yet?”

“Not yet,” Rook said, keeping her voice level. “Was just compiling evidence.”

“I’ll call the police,” Eagle said gruffly, rounding the corner. “You two gather up as much data as you can.”

Wolf gave a lazy mock salute. “Aye, aye.” He moved in closer to Rook’s space, crouching down by the corpses and patting down Butch’s pockets for any items left behind. “You think he knew too much about our guy?”

“Seems like it,” Rook agreed. “He doesn’t exactly look like the type to be a threat, but if he’s got a big mouth…”

“He won’t be talking anymore, that’s for sure. His phone’s gone, too. That’s just great. Midgar Slasher is thorough.”

Rook moved to the other corpse. It was further in the alleyway in comparison to Butch. Clearly, the two men had tried running in the opposite directions. Neither had been fast enough to escape, but Hades, or Midgar Slasher, hadn’t bothered to take this one's phone.

“Aha,” Rook said, holding the outdated flip phone up in triumph. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a lead.”

“Nice!” 

Wolf gave her two thumbs up and Rook actually found herself smiling back. Maybe working this case together was exactly what their relationship needed to mend.

“Police have been phoned in,” Eagle announced. “You kids get up out of here and make it back to the nest before we’re accused of tampering with evidence. I’ll deal with the circus, you heard?”

Rook hummed her acquiesce. “Loud and clear. See you back at the base.” She pocketed the burner phone and made her way out of the alley, happy to leave the corpses of poor Butch and his friend behind. “Come on, Wolfboy.”

Behind her, Wolf laughed as he jogged to catch up. “It’s just _Wolf_.”

Rook clasped her hands behind her back and kept her eyes focused on the road ahead. “Wolfboy sounds better to me.”

“You’re killing me here, birdie.”

Rook smiled but she kept it to herself. “Then perish, Wolfboy.”

* * *

Cloud wasn’t answering Aerith’s calls, but that was nothing new. Her ex-boyfriend was good at avoiding people he didn’t want to talk to and conversations that he didn’t want to have. Still, if he thought that he could hide from her forever, he was sorely mistaken.

“ _Hey Cloud, it’s me, Aerith. Just calling to check on how you’re doing. We’re all worried about you over here, you know. Call me back soon, okay?”_

It was her nicest voicemail to date. Unlike Tifa and Zack, Aerith didn’t carry the patience to deal with Cloud’s brooding. Everyone was sad sometimes, everyone was dealing with personal shit, and Cloud Stife-Valentine’s _need_ to have a monopoly on pain annoyed her to no end. Tifa said that anger, teasing, and insensitivity was not the way to get Cloud to open up but Aerith had dated him for three whole years and it never seemed to be a problem then.

Or maybe she was misremembering.

Either way, Aerith supposed being a little nicer to Cloud couldn’t hurt but she didn’t expect it to change much. His attention and, most importantly, his loyalty, had switched from her to Tifa over a year ago. Aerith had watched him go with amusement, mostly. Their teenage relationship had been fun while it lasted. Cloud Strife-Valentine was Aerith Gast-Gainsborough’s first love and nothing would ever change that, but perhaps they had outgrown each other long ago.

Tifa was kindhearted and soft in a way that Aerith was not. It was a good thing, really. Cloud was a protective person. He liked shoving Aerith behind him or running in front of her to keep her safe. As attractive as that had been at sixteen, Aerith wasn’t interested in playing damsel at all and Cloud’s overprotective nature had become a point of contention. Not to mention his aversion to emotions and being able to take a joke. Tifa, on the other hand, seemed to be somewhat of a perfect fit.

But Aerith would be lying if she said she weren’t a little jealous. Cloud was not the only one with a crush on Tifa Lockhart, but Aerith didn’t even know if the other girl _liked_ other girls. 

“Aerith?” Mama called down to her from the top of the med bay stairwell. “Come up here and help me disinfect the station, please.”

“Coming!”

Mama was humming along to the radio when Aerith entered the room. She looked pretty with her long, wavy brown hair tied up in a neat braided bun for work. Somehow, Mama could even make scrubs look chic.

“How’s Cloud?” Mama asked without turning to look at Aerith at all.

Aerith grabbed a couple of tools left on the counter by the disinfectant and got to work. “I really wouldn’t know. Asshole still doesn’t answer my calls.”

Mama clucked her tongue at Aerith’s language, but she didn’t scold her. “Little bird is still going through some things, I take it?”

Aerith rolled her eyes. “Aren’t we all?”

“Don’t be harsh, my flower,” Mama chided, half-hearted at best. “Hand me the scissors when you’re finished disinfecting them, please.”

“Why does everyone say I’m so harsh, anyway?” Aerith grumbled, loud enough for her mother to hear. “Cloud’s the harsh one. He just took off and won’t talk to any of us except Tifa. The worst part is that Vincent just lets it happen! It’s like everyone just accepts Cloud’s shitty behaviour. Well, not me. No, ma’am!”

“Aerith. The scissors.”

Aerith sighed, handing the item off to her mother after wiping them clean. “Sorry.”

Before Mama could say anything, the Nest’s security system chimed over the speakers. _“Welcome, Wolf,”_ the cold, automated voice said. _“Designation 006. Welcome, Rook. Designation 008.”_

Aerith looked up at the clock on the wall. “They’re back already?” It was barely 2AM.

“I suppose they must have found what they needed,” Mama said. “Go attend to them. See if there are any injuries we need to heal. I’ll finish setting up the station on my own.”

“Okie dokie.”

The bull pen was right next to the medical bay, though they were separated by a thick glass wall and a heavy metal door. Tifa and Zack hadn’t made it up from the garage just yet. Aerith plopped herself down in a chair and waited, but it didn’t take long.

Zack entered first, his tall and muscular body hiding Tifa’s smaller one from view until she stepped around him.

“Everyone okay?” Aerith asked, eyeing them both for any sort of cuts, bruises, favoured leaning, or laboured breaths. They both seemed to be alright as far as her eye could see.

“We’re good, Aerith,” Tifa said warmly. “Came back early cause we got a lead we need to chase is all.”

“Good! In that case, I’ll head back to my station.”

“Or,” Zack took a seat right next to her, draping his arm behind the back of her chair, “you could keep us company while we work.”

Aerith rolled her eyes with a smile. “You just want to see my pretty face.”

“Busted.”

She shoved him playfully. Flirting with Zack was fun sometimes. Aerith wouldn’t deny that having his favour boosted her ego a bit. “Mama will be mad at me if I don’t go help her set up, but maybe I’ll come back after.”

“Sounds good,” Tifa said, now sitting across from them as she rummaged in the desk drawer. “An extra pair of eyes never hurts.”

“We all know I love being a part time detective,” Aerith said, pushing herself up and making her way back toward the med bay. “Save something for me to do if you can!”

“We’ll try, angel.”

Aerith winked at Zack before glancing Tifa’s way but she wasn’t paying attention at all. Why were girls so hard to flirt with in comparison to men, anyway? At this rate, Cloud was bound to bag Tifa before she did.

* * *

There was only one number programmed into the burner phone. Tifa hadn’t wanted to be the one to call it, so Zack was currently spinning himself around in his chair while the phone rang on the other line.

After the third ring, a woman picked up. “What do you want now?” Her voice was cold and strikingly familiar, but Zack couldn’t place it.

He stayed silent, unsure of what to say. Across from him, Tifa was tracing the call so the longer this woman stayed on the phone, the better.

“Hello?” The woman said. “You aren’t going to speak? Fine. Listen closely, if this is your form of a threat, you and your people have got to do better. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you twice—tell Corneo to keep his greasy hands out of my business. Lose this number.”

And with that the line went dead.

“I got it,” Tifa said. “Or, at least the general vicinity.”

Zack flipped the burner shut and tossed it onto the table. “What are we looking at?”

“Center City. ShinRa Headquarters.”

It clicked for him then. “I knew I recognized that voice! It was Scarlet and that call sounded nothing short of blackmail to me. Question is, how does a disgusting pig like Corneo get his hands on enough material to blackmail a ShinRa executive?”

“I don’t know… But it wouldn't hurt to find out.”

Zack had a sinking feeling in his chest. He knew better than most that Tifa was a reckless person. Her plans always filled him with dread. “What, exactly, do you have in mind?”

“Recon in Wallmarket,” Tifa said, matter-of-fact.

Zack let his face fall into his palm. “Oh god. That is a _terrible_ idea.”

“You got any other suggestions?”

Zack withheld a sigh. “No… But I don’t think Barret or Vincent are going to be too keen on _you_ going into Wallmarket—even if I’m with you.”

“Don’t worry,” Tifa said with an easy shrug. “I’ll handle it.”

Zack did not trust her to handle it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all!  
> This took me so much longer than I thought it would, so sorry for that!! This chapter is much longer than the prologue so I hope y’all enjoy! Don’t forget to leave me a comment, I thrive off of them 😭 and feel free to follow me on tumblr at Ribbon-Couture! 💕


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